"There is no death,
only a change of worlds."
-- Chief Seattle, Leader of six Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest (1854)

Adapted activity from: www.pbs.org/witheyesopen

 

Activity One:

1.  What did Chief Seattle mean by this quote?

  • Do you agree or disagree with Chief Seattle?

  • What does this quote tell you about Chief Seattle?

2.  People in different cultures have different views on the afterlife.  Reflect in writing on your own view of the afterlife.

3.  Share your thoughts!  Divide into partners or groups and discuss what you have written.

4.  Class discussion:

  • What did you learn from your partner/group?

  • Why do people have different views on life after death?

  • Does religion, culture, and spirituality shape people's understanding of the afterlife?  How?

Activity Two:

You will be assigned to a group:

1.  Ghana Funeral
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/ghana/ghana.htm

2.  Khants Funeral Customs
 http://haldjas.folklore.ee/folklore/vol7/khants.htm

3.  Tibetan Funeral Customs
 http://www.skippingstones.org/sample-10.htm#Tibetan (Click on "Tibetan Funerals")

4.  Jewish Mourning
 http://www.jdcc.org/sepoct97/doc1.htm

5.  Romani Customs
 http://www.geocities.com/~Patrin/death.htm

  1. Find and record ten interesting pieces of information from your website.

  2. Prepare a brief presentation of what you would like to share with the class about your culture's customs.

  3. Class activity: make a chart to compare/contrast the various beliefs of the cultures researched.

  4. Class activity: make a list of funeral customs that exist in our society.

  5. What does this list tell us about our beliefs, values, and attitudes?

Activity Three:

1.  Divide into small groups (4-5 students). 

2.  Each group will select and read one of the afterlife myths found on the following site:
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/cressida.htm

3.  Answer the following questions based on your opinions of the reading:

  1. What does this myth indicate about the culture of its people?

  2. What does your group appear to value?

  3. How do they describe the afterlife?

  4. What role does nature play in the myth you read?

  5. What role do you think myths play in your culture, and how might it be different from the culture you read about?

4.  Find 5 interesting facts to support your opinions for questions 1&2 from the following websites:

5.  Present your myth and background information to the class in a creative format.  Some ideas: a brief skit, a song or musical response, a poem, a puppet show, etc. 

CHECKLIST

  Our presentation fully demonstrates our knowledge of the subject matter.
  During our project presentation, we will speak clearly, make eye contact, and dress and act appropriately.
  Our project has information from sources with excellent reputations, and we cited our resources correctly.
  Our presentation has a complete storyboard that we completed before practicing.
  I fully participated in discussions and contributed ideas about the project.

RUBRIC

  1. Novice 2. Apprentice 3. Proficient 4. Distinguished
Oral Presentation-Knowledge:
Demonstrate knowledge of subject 		Demonstrated little or no knowledge of the subject. Unable to answer audience questions or comment further on any part of the presentation. Demonstrated a basic knowledge of the subject matter. Able to address audience questions by repeating parts of the presentation - did not provide any additional information. Demonstrated a working knowledge of the subject matter. Able to satisfactorily answer audience questions and provided additional information upon request. Demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the subject matter. Able to use audience questions to further demonstrate understanding of the topic. Appeared to be an expert on the subject being presented.
Oral Presentation-Overview:
Eye contact, voice, and appearance 		Made no eye contact. Used low, soft, or monotone voice. Read from a script. Appearance was too casual or sloppy. Posture was slouched. Made some eye contact. Voice was soft or monotone. Appearance was casual but neat. Presenter rocked back and forth. Often made eye contact. Voice was steady and clear. Used appropriate facial expressions and gestures. Knew content well. Dressed up. Had good posture. Used eye contact that moved among the audience. Confident, expressive, and knew content well. Dressed up or in appropriate costume. Had good posture, was mobile, and used gestures and facial expressions to make their point.
Research-Quality:
Information from reputable sources 		Included more opinion than fact. Information was taken from unreliable sources. Included a mixture of facts from reputable sources and opinions from unreliable sources. Included facts, conclusions, and opinions from reliable sources. Included facts, conclusions, and opinions from reliable sources. Included opinions of subject-matter experts.
Planning-Storyboard:
Visual map of the project 		Storyboard was incomplete. Did not use the storyboard during project-building process. Basic storyboard did not demonstrate an answer to the essential question. Referred to the storyboard infrequently during the project-building process. Strong storyboard showed how project would answer the essential question. Storyboard was used as a guideline for project development. Fully developed storyboard showed how project would answer the essential question. Used storyboard extensively during project development for goal setting, organization, and task-assignment.
Teamwork-Contribution:
Ideas and assistance 		Did not participate in most group discussions. Rarely shared ideas. Participated in most group discussions. Shared a few ideas. Shared ideas in every group discussion. Attempted to locate additional resources or materials. Actively participated in all group discussions and activities. Shared ideas freely. Located additional information or resources.

MyT4L Rubric
www.tech4learning.com